Mortal Kombat: Emperor's Folly
by Necromancy101
Summary: This story is a sequel to Mortal Kombat X based on the tower endings featured in the game. Earthrealm invades Outworld and a new Mortal Kombat tournament is started. Kotal Kahn is forced to make hard choices to save his realm. Mileena/Cassie.
Disclaimer: You know this is coming, but it must be said. I do not own Mortal Kombat, I am simply a fan who is enjoying messing around in it.

Chapter 1

The Briggs family farm looked no different on the outside than it had any other time Cassie visited. Hell, it looked better than last time. The barn was freshly painted. The animals were well fed and as happy as the cantankerous critters ever could be. Even Mr. Grumpy, the huge black spotted pig that never seemed to grasp that it wasn't a German Shepard, came bounding up to greet the car. At the pig's side was a smaller blue heeler.

"Hey, Ed. Grumps," Cassie said with a smile as she stepped out of her Porsche. The car was one of the many overpriced gifts daddy-to-daughter handouts Johnny Cage had given her.

"The two of you look well fed." She kneeled to pet the pig and dog for a moment, before standing up straight.

There was no way Jackie didn't know they were here. A car could be spotted from the house half a mile away. The animals also raised a ruckus every time a new vehicle pulled up.

"That is a big pig," Takeda said as he slammed the passenger door closed.

"Mr. Grumpy isn't a pig. He's a puppy."

"He's pig. A very big pig." Takeda glanced around. "This place is nice. Just like Jackie made it sound."

"I practically grew up here." Cassie walked around the car, the pair of animals following right behind her. "Jackie!"

No one answered.

"Maybe she's not here."

Carrie shook her head. "No. Her car's here and her cellphone is too."

"Tracking your bff's cell? Kind of creepy."

"I'm her commanding officer, yo. Besides, if she answered it, I wouldn't have to."

"Maybe she doesn't have it on her."

"Girl could never give up Vine."

"Could watch those from a computer, you know?"

"Barn door's open," Cassie said.

Takeda glanced down.

"Not those barn doors. The actual barn's." She pointed.

Takeda gave a weak laugh. "Lead the way, I guess. You're the bff."

"And the lieutenant. But hey, you're the boyfriend. Maybe you deserve to go first."

"The boyfriend who hasn't heard from her in weeks."

"Join the club, we have t-shirts."

"I'm not blaming her or anything. She's been through a lot," Takeda said, his voice softening.

"I know, but her leave is up tomorrow. She doesn't have any more time to take. I don't want Jackie to be considered AWOL." Jacqueline Briggs was no deserter. Cassie needed to make sure Jackie wasn't charged as one. "We need to put the team back together."

"Have you yet heard from Kung Jin?" Takeda asked as they approached the barn.

"I haven't."

"Kind of makes it hard to put the team back together if we don't know where everyone else."

"We never should have split up," Cassie said. If they hadn't then she never would have murdered that old man in the mountains, thinking he was Shang Tsung. Sure, that old guy had been a soul stealer, but she'd been brought up on horror stories of the old sorcerer and feared him more than any living being. Cassie attacked Shujenko as soon as he appeared without even asking his name. She'd behaved unbecoming of a soldier and killed a man that might not have needed to die.

Inside the barn, Cassie and Takeda spotted Jackie. She was working on a tractor. She had the engine bared and was tinkering with the machine's innards.

"Jackie!" Cassie called, keeping her tone happy and welcoming. She was sure Jacqueline knew they were there, but announced herself anyway.

The only remaining member of the Briggs family didn't turn around.

"How have you been, Jackie?" Takeda said, approaching her.

"My dad's dead. How do you think I've been?" Came the dull reply.

Takeda stopped short of his girlfriend, if they could even be called an item anymore. It had been so long since they'd spoken. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," came Jackie's lifeless reply.

"It's time to return to duty, soldier," Cassie said in a stern voice, trying a different idea.

Jackie started, stared at Cassie for a moment, and then got to her feet. She saluted, but her face remained an emotionless mask. "Yes sir."

Cassie frowned. "Is that all I get from you?"

"What do you expect?" Jackie dropped her hand in a breach of military protocol. "What do you want from me."

"For you to get your shit together."

"Cassie!" Takeda looked aghast. "Jax just-"

"I know he did. I saw it happen. I've been supportive, Jackie. I've given you space, I've given you comfort, and I've given you understanding. Fuck, if it had been my dad I'd be a wreck. You know what? I'd also expect you to make me get my shit together. Your dad would have expected the same of both of us."

"Don't you dare," Jackie whispered, her hands clenching into fists. "Don't think you can put words in his mouth just because he isn't here. Don't piss on his memory like that. He never wanted me to be a soldier."

"Cause he knew what it would mean. Once you took your oaths and put on that uniform, you were tied to the life he lived. Don't forget that he also taught you every single value you and the army hold dear."

"He died wearing that fucking uniform. He never would have been there if I hadn't joined."

"If he hadn't been there, Erron Black would have killed us all," Cassie said, pressing the argument forward. "We all owe our lives to your dad."

"Doesn't change the fact he wouldn't have been there if not for me. He should be working in here with me. None of us had any business on that battlefield. My dad should be alive right now."

"Yes he should," Cassie said, her face serious. "I'd do anything to have stopped it from happening, Jackie. So would my mom and dad. Jax was family to me too." She wanted to say she'd been hurting too, especially separated from her best friend. They should be together to support each other through this time.

"Don't compare your loss to mine."

"I didn't."

"You just fucking did."

Red spread across Cassie's face now. "I've had enough of this. You're going to return to duty tomorrow. Is that understood, Specialist?"

"Yes sir," Jackie spat. She didn't salute.

Cassie turned to leave. "I'll be in the car. Be quick with your kissy kissy, Takeda." Then she walked out, Mr. Grumpy following behind.

Ed the heeler stayed with his mistress, less oblivious than the pig to Jackie's feelings feelings.

Jackie took several deep breaths to calm herself, tears now rolling down her cheeks.

"What happened between you two?" Takeda asked in the softest tone she'd ever heard him use.

Jackie shook her head. "It's a long story. God, she's behaving just like her mom." She wanted to turn and yell at Takeda too, but he was giving her that puppy dog expression. It was always so hard to be mad at him. Then a thought occurred to her that made it very easy. "You just read my mind, didn't you?"

"I didn't mean to."

"Damn it, Takeda. When someone says 'it's a long story' and then doesn't say anymore, it means they want some privacy. Most invasive boyfriends just read their girlfriends' text messages. No, you have to break into my head."

"I'm sorry Jackie," Takeda said. He had indeed gotten a glimpse of the fight that put Jacqueline and Cassandra at such odds, and he wished he hadn't. "You were so angry you were broadcasting. It's like someone shouting next to you, you can't help but hear. I wouldn't do that to you on purpose. I swear. I told you how this works." She would never understand though. No one could but another telepath.

"Damn it, let's just pretend that didn't fucking happen."

"She's worried about you, and she's hurting. Cassie wasn't lying you know?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Takeda." Jackie brushed her tears away.

"I've missed you." He started to reach out for her, but dropped his hand to his side.

"Missed you too," Jackie said in barely above a whisper. She stepped over to a bale of hay and sat down on it.

Takeda joined her, setting his hands on his knees. "I'm glad we're talking now."

"Me too."

"I could tell a joke if it would make you feel better?"

"Thanks, but I'll pass for now."

"You sure? It's a good one. Got it from reading the mind of a New Orleans pimp."  
"Where did you meet a New Orleans pimp, Takeda?"

"New Orleans."

Jacqueline laughed. It wasn't a happy sound. "Was this a part of your quest with your father."

"Yeah."

"Did you find them? The people that killed your mom?"

Takeda nodded. "Yes, I did. We killed them, all of them."

"How did it feel?"

Takeda hesitated, wondering if he should answer with the truth or a lie. He was speaking to someone who'd just undergone horrible loss.

"Tell me, I can take it."

"It's hard to describe."

"Did it help? That's the only question worth asking when it comes to revenge."

Takeda sighed. "I know most movies tell you it doesn't. It's easy to get why. Who wants kids growing up to be the sort of people who think revenge solves all their problems? But you know what the problem is with believing movies when they try to talk about the meaning of life or try to teach you a moral lesson? They usually lie to make the world seem better than it really is. Yeah. It helped. It didn't bring mom back or reduce our loss in any way, but it did give a sense of closure. It's not a nice feeling, but it helps bring things full circle. That and I know that the man who killed her won't be hurting anyone again. That felt good."

"I can't even have revenge." Erron Black belonged to Kotal Kahn. General Blade had been forced to turn him over to her superiors and let them bargain with Kotal Kahn for his return. No doubt Black would be released after Earthrealm officials had extorted proper political compensation from Outworld. That was all her dad's life was worth now: political currency.

"You don't know that. From what I hear a tribunal might be convened to deal with it. Obviously he can't be tried in a civilian court."

Jackie looked up. "Death is the only thing that bastard deserves. Unless you count torture."

Takeda gave Jackie a sad smile. "Hey there, that much hate has no business coming from so pretty a voice." He looked so serious as he said it that Jackie didn't laugh.

Instead she gave out a sound halfway between a sob and a sigh. "That was a bad line. Fuck. Barely months ago we saved the whole world. Now look at what's left. Its fallen apart. Damn it, why didn't Raiden bring him back."  
"Raiden's got no power over the spirits of the dead. He has to petition the Elder Gods to have someone restored to life."

"Well, why doesn't he?"

"Maybe he has. Maybe they said no."

"And maybe he doesn't give a shit." Jackie slumped against Takeda. "Fuck, I'm so tired."

Xxxxxx

Inside the very jungle where her rebellion had met its end, Mileena prepared to avenge her defeat. Alongside dozens of her sisters, she practiced the advanced maneuvers and combined attacks that would make victory possible. No more would she have to rely on warriors of lesser skill. Every single one of her, for indeed each and every sister was an identical copy down to the least meaningful memory, felt that hatred and desire for revenge. Each also knew that every one of her sisters would not share the throne even if they were of one mind and body when in close proximity. That understanding of certain betrayal was in its own way liberating. Each of them was as voracious as the others, and each knew the others' thoughts. No single military unit in all of Outworld's history could match their precision. They were making progress towards that glorious day when they could reclaim Outworld. Any that survived would then have to face her sisters.

After maneuvers were done, they parted ways and tended to their own hunting. While each would know if one of her sisters planned a poisoning or a murder, they also knew that they were all the more likely to attack in the throes of the hunt, so each MIleena left the others alone to both their instincts and their kills. Then they returned to their new camp, which was situated where Mileena had hidden towards the end of the Outworld Civil War.

No one not Mileena had set foot in this camp, not even one of her old tarkatan subjects. She had an elite fighting force unmatched by any other in skill and unity. Why water it down with weaker blood?

Yet on the evening of the war's renewel, the same night the sacred ritual of Mortal Kombat was to be renewed, there was a stranger in the camp. He wore only pants, barring a youthful muscled chest for all to see. The man's face was sharp featured and his beard cut fine to its shape. His hair was pulled up into a tight topknot. Never had Mileena seen this one so youthful, but she would not mistake the second and less beloved of her fathers.

"Shang Tsung!" Each Mileena hissed in turn.

The nearest of them approached. "What are you doing here, sorcerer?"

"I've come to inspect my new army, beast."

"How dare you call me that? I will have your head!"

Before Mileena could leap on Shang Tsung from all directions, the soul stealer held up his hand. A green light surrounded it.

Pain flowed through the nearest Mileena's body and each after that in turn.

"Kneel," Shang Tsung ordered.

Every single Mileena sank to her knees. Some resisted more than others, but the agony and desire to obey eventually overwhelmed their will to fight back. All of them fell under Shang Tsung's sway as he'd designed them to, all but one.

A single Mileena shook off the pain and the dominance and stood glaring at Shang Tsung. "What have you done to my sisters? What is this?"

Shang Tsung smiled. "This is what I made all of you for: to be my servants."

"You do not control me, sorcerer," Mileena said, striking her own chest just above the left breast for emphasis. Her bestial eyes burned with rage.

"No, not you in particular. You're the first, aren't you? The one I made in those pits more than two decades ago."

"You were foolish not to consider that I would be strong enough to over throw your will."

"Had I designed you to be a slave your will wouldn't matter. I'm anything but a fool, pit-spawn. Shao Kahn wanted a daughter. It was from the Emperor I learned many advanced techniques of my craft. He would no doubt recognize enchantments woven into your soul that would allow me to control you. No, such an obvious trick wouldn't work on him, and he would have had you destroyed and me along with you for such treachery. No, to destroy him I had to create something a good deal more dangerous."

"What do you mean?" Only incredulity prevented her from rushing Shang Tsung and cutting him down. "You wanted to murder my father?"

"Yes, though it would be you who did the dirty work. Woven into your soul and the body I provided for you are enchantments designed to defeat the greatest of his defenses, along with a spell that would have eventually driven you to murder him at a time of my choosing."

"I would never have killed my father."

"You would have, my pet. Unfortunately, he proved more skilled in both sorcery and treachery than I anticipated, and he moved against me first. Surely you didn't think he simply killed me out of spite. I realized it a second before he moved to drain my soul and give its power to Sindel. She was simply the excuse to punish me for the plot he'd already uncovered, but even he didn't realize that I had prepared contingencies within my creations just in case I died."

"He was too clever for you."

"Was he? I stand alive, and he has been obliterated. With Shao Kahn dead, I have no use for the original. I have your better parts all here before me." He smiled. "Kill her, Mileena."

The original Mileena's adrenaline spiked and she did the only thing she could in this circumstance: she fled, her sisters at her heels.

xxxxxxx

Kotal Kahn entered his throne room at a brisk imperious pace. While he was eager to hear news of the ever shifting situation within Earthrealm, he needed to appear calm and at ease, as though he already knew what news would be forthcoming. The Emperor of Outworld always needed to demonstrate control.

The throne room itself was all but empty now with most of the courtiers and plaintiffs absent. There were only two others in the room, though they would best be thought of as single being. Ferra and Torr were a symbiotic pairing of a gigantic brute and a dwarf girl who rode him. Eventually Ferra would enter a metamorphosis and change into a brute herself. At that point, Torr would die and a new rider would take his place in the symbiotic union.

"Where is Reptile? I expected him back by now?" Indeed, it was Reptile Kotal thought waiting for him.

"Froggie still gone. Not seen," Ferra said. "Should we search?"

"An Outworld expedition into Earthrealm would only further bring more diplomatic woe. No. We will wait another day. If he does not return by then, we will assume him captured. There is a process to see prisoners exchanged, and no doubt there will be repercussions. We are already negotiating for the mercenary's life."

"Froggie worth it."

"Yes, he is," Kotal admitted. Reptile was one of the few members of his court left who partook in the initial rebellion against Mileena. He brought the news that destroyed Mileena's legitimacy. The raptor had proven himself many times over to be a worthy and loyal soldier.

Then again, so had D'Vorah. Kotal couldn't help but shake feelings of suspicion. If D'Vorah would betray him, then all were capable of it. His chest ached at the thought. Treachery cut deeper than the blade and left long lasting wounds on those that survived it.

"Where is Ermac?"

"We can't find," came another stuttering response.

Kotal's eyes narrowed. "The timing of events is most troubling."

"We find." Ferra thmped Torr's head for emphasis.

Torr didn't even notice.

"Do so," Kotal said. There wasn't much else he could do at the moment. His armies were already on alert, and tensions were high with Earthrealm.

"Is that what you said when you gave the order?" The words that boomed through the throne room were accompanied by the crack of thunder. There was a flash of light, then there was a fourth person in the room.

"What that?" Ferra screeched.

Torr growled at the sound and pawed at the ground like a beast.

Kotal whirled on the being that had dared invade his domain. Whether intentional or not, insult had been added to injury by the intruder's chosen position: between Kotal and his throne. "Who dares?"

"Who dares?" Raiden said as he raised his head, his distinctive disk shaped helm held with regal bearing upon his crown. Instead of his robes he now wore armor. Raiden's eyes glowed with malevolence, and his face now had the pallor of Shinnok. "You would ask that of a god?"

"Earthrealm is yours, but not Outworld. You have no position here," Kotal's voice didn't waver in the face of even divine wrath.

"You're right. Earthrealm is mine." Raiden spread his arms. Tongues of lightning lashed out, striking surfaces all over the room. One bolt hit Kotal in the chest. Another knock Ferra off of her mount.

Torr howled in rage and charged for Raiden. He caught naught but air as the Elder God disappeared. The giant continued to hurtle forward, smashing into the throne and shattering it.

Raiden reappeared where he'd been standing before and with a casual wave of his hands unleashed torrents of lightning on Torr. Steam and the scent of burning flesh filled the chamber.

Kotal stood up and moved for the door. He was facing a god, not some ordinary assassin, and he was an emperor. There was no shame in calling for help. "Guards," he bellowed. "Guards." He pushed the doors open and stepped into the hallway. "Where are you?" That was when Kotal found the first group of them.

There was nothing left of them but piles of scorched meat. Perhaps their deaths had been covered under that initial thunderous cacophony. To do such damage in but an instant. Had the Thunder God always been so powerful?

"You have a lot to answer for!"

"As do you," Raiden said, another crackle of thunder accompanying the declaration. He strode from the throne room with the confidence of a conqueror.

"You shall pay for what you have done." Kotal pulled his hook-like blades from his back and charged Raiden, slashing with the right one first.

Raiden batted the hand away and deflected the following two strikes. He then caught one of Kotal's arms, hefted it high, and delivered a kick to Kotal's ribs. With the hit came a powerful shock.

The attack took Kotal's breath away, but he pressed forward again, unwilling to yield to his attacker. Every attempt to strike Kotal made his opponent deflected. Every now and again Raiden would get a hit in past his defenses, and with each came another shock.

With a cry that sounded like a chant, Raiden dove forward, striking Kotal Kahn with both outstretched hands out. It was like being hit by a torpedo. The force behind the attack was tremendous, sending Kotal through the stone walls of his own fortress and out upon one of the bastion's balconies.

Kotal fought for air. The feathered crest on his head was now no more than ash. Blood seeped from his nose and the corner of his mouth. The first attempt he made to right himself was defeated by the twitching of his muscles. The electricity Raiden used made them misbehave and clench. "I will not be so defeated in my own home." Kotal fought for the strength to move and managed to press himself up off of the ground. That was when he saw the raging turmoil that had engulfed his world.

From this balcony, he had looked out over his capitol many times over, but never had the skies been so dark. Lighting arched from the black clouds, sometimes striking sand, other times blasting apart the homes of Kotal's subjects. The strikes came with incredible frequency, reducing people to ash in the streets.  
"Such brutality. What madness has come upon you?" That was when Kotal spotted Shinnok's amulet prominently displayed on Raiden's armored chest. "You have fallen."

"Fallen? No, I am not so short sighted. This amulet lends me its power, that is all. With it I shall put an end to the threat of Outworld once and for all."

Kotal calculated the odds in his mind. With Raiden's power exponentially increased there was no way a frontal attack would work. Ferra/Torr had already been defeated with ease, and Raiden moved on to thrash him just as quick. He must find another way to stop Raiden. "Why do you strike at us so? Peace is on the verge of being negotiated."

"You speak of peace? The non-aggression pact you're working towards is but a joke. It is merely a delay so that you may regain your strength. Already you have moved against us." Raiden's eyes narrowed. "You killed one of my warriors."

"Of what do you speak, Thunder God?"

"Jackson Briggs. Do not feign ignorance. I know that it was you who sent Black to earth to kill those warriors who opposed you during the Second Neatherrealm War."

There was no denying it. "I did send Erron Black." Kotal looked back over his shoulder. He could hear the shrieks of his people below. "All of Outworld should not pay for my decision."

"The people of Earth have suffered many times over for the decisions of the emperor of Outworld. It is time outworlders know that pain."

"You commit murder. Genocide." Genocide was an Earthrealmer term. For Outworlder, such a thing was often a normal consequence of war. Still, humans considered it a most vile crime. Perhaps putting it to Raiden as genocide could sway him from his course.

"I bring justice and protect my realm. No longer shall I stand by and simply fend off attacks from enemies who are left to lick their wounds and try again. I shall take up arms and destroy them." Raiden somehow managed to look down upon the much taller Khan. "I shall conquer your realm and merge it with my own, like Shao Kahn would have done to us. Those of your people I do not destroy I shall enslave to my cause."

"Outworld shall never be yours." Kotal Kahn charged for Raiden, even though he knew it was a futile gesture. The thought of his kingdom shattered and his people enslaved drove him beyond madness.

With a casual flick of his hand, Raiden summoned lighting. It wreathed Kotal in flickering tendrils of light, stopping him short of reaching the Thunder God. Raiden increased the flow, smiling as he watched Kotal's skin sear and boil. "Kneel, Emperor."

Kotal didn't have a choice. He sank to the ground as he was cooked from the inside. His vision flickered.

Raiden allowed the lighting to dissipate as quickly as it had come. "The sight of you like this pleases me, Kotal. Know that even the Elder God Shinnok felt this humiliation before his threat was ended."

"You killed Shinnok?" Kotal could barely get the words out.

"Kill? No. Such a thing is impossible, but with no principles to stay my hand I was able to find another solution. If you remember, you tried to murder my children to appease the same god?"

"Children? You have no children, Thunder God."

"Do I not? Was I not there as Kung Lao and Liu Kang grew up? Was I not caretaker of Jacqueline Briggs or Cassandra Cage? Did I not take the place of family for Kung Jin? Tell me Kotal, do you fathom how many of the few mortals I hold so dear to me died because of Outworld. This revenge is long overdue."

"Then punish me. Not my kingdom."

"I am punishing you, but the sins are not yours alone." Raiden paused, and a malign sparkle came to his eyes. "I could be perhaps motivated to mercy. Beg Kotal, beg me to spare you."

"I do not beg to be spared. I beseech only that you do not punish my people."

"Pride. You still hold onto it. Beg me to save them then, beg me to make them slaves instead of dead men. Beg!" Raiden shouted the last word, his voice like the clap of thunder.

Kotal lowered his eyes. "I beg of you. Save my people."

"Beg me to make them slaves."

Kotal took a deep breath and leaned back, opening his arms to the sky. "I beg of you, protect my people from wrong doing. Save my realm as you have saved others."

"Nothing will save Outworld unless you beg harder. I want to see you lose every last shred of dignity." As Raiden spoke, the strikes on the city continued.

"I beg of you, allow us to defend ourselves from slavery and death. I request the last hope of a shattered, defenseless realm. I beseech you, Elder Gods, permit Mortal Kombat."

Raiden realized what Kotal was doing too late, but that didn't stop him from blasting Kotal with everything he had. To his surprise, the bolts were deflected. "What is this?"

A golden dragon, tiny in size, the spirit of an Elder God no less, circle Kotal. "The request has been made," rumbled the miniature beast in a power voice. "The request is granted. Mortal Kombat will decide the outcome."

The storm clouds began to disappear. The lightening stopped. The two other small dragons that had dismissed both still circled in the sky.

Raiden narrowed his eyes. "Very well. Mortal Kombat it is. Gather your warriors, Kotal Kahn. You have but delayed the inevitable. I will come, and I will destroy all of Outworld for your defiance." He raised his hand and in a flash of lightning was gone.

The little gold dragons were gone.

Kotal permitted himself a groan of pain as he got back to his feet. No one was nearby to hear it. "I have traded a Jaguar for a godslayer." He needed warriors, and only the very best. First he would see if Ferra/Torr still lived, then he would gather the rest of his greatest: Ermac, Reptile, and Erron Black. The last would have to be rescued, but that could be achieved. He needed more though. Somewhere he would have to find it. Raiden would not relent.


End file.
